If someone strapped the NCAA into a dentist’s chair, it’s a good bet the good doc would discover the group never grew any wisdom teeth, or that they were removed years ago.

The decision a year ago by the group’s membership to limit the number of weeks Division I baseball teams may play their 56 games per season was as well-received as another auto or bank bailout, and nothing has changed as we sit on the eve of the 2009 season.

All Division I teams will have to squeeze their games into a 94-day span covering 14 weekends starting today and ending on May 25. Teams playing a full complement of 56 games will be looking at several weeks with a five-game schedule.

The complaints a year ago were plentiful. The rule change affected the health of a team’s pitching staff, teams were fatigued by season’s end, and it cut deeply into a team’s usual practice time, leading to complaints about a fall-off in fundamentals, visible in the box scores as errors.

The only thing that’s changed for 2009 just adds to the issue – the maximum number of players a team may carry has been reduced to 35, and transfers from four-year colleges are now forced to sit out for a season while counting against the 35.

This doesn’t make for great baseball. All of the local coaches say the limited amount of practice time they have from Feb. 1, the official start of practice, to today’s openers leaves teams feeling unprepared and makes them extra cautious about overusing players.

UCLA’s John Savage, UCIrvine’s Mike Gillespie and Long Beach State’s Mike Weathers have all said that fall drills can’t duplicate the intensity of a normal practice period, and that the limited number of days a team can practice during the season has dwindled to a precious few.

The compacted schedule was created because teams in the East and Midwest complained that teams in the West and South had an advantage by being able to play games in January and February.

In 2006 and 2007, the Dirtbags and most West Coast teams began their season the first weekend of February. In 2005, the Dirtbags began the season with a late January series at Arizona State. Eastern teams couldn’t get on snowed-in fields those months and were forced to book road trips to warm climates.

Simply stated, the Pacific-10 Conference, Big West and SEC are being penalized for having relatively mild winters.

The true insanity of the decision can be readily viewed by taking a quick look at a few other teams in California who don’t play Division I baseball. Perennial Division III contender Chapman? The Panthers are 5-4 so far this season. Cal State Los Angeles of the CCAA? It’s played 10 games, and Cal State Monterey Bay has played 13.

There’s momentum within the college coaches community to reconsider the scheduling folly, but like anything involving the NCAA, getting sane things done is as tough as pulling teeth.

Here’s a first-look at the West Coast teams as the season gets underway. Records and stats in parenthesis are from 2008:

Big West: The days of Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach dominating the league appear to be gone. The conference is getting deeper every season, and the ’09 season starts with three legitimate candidates for the league title in Fullerton, UCI and UC Santa Barbara. The Titans (41-22, Dave Serrano) return a trio of big bats in Josh Fellhauer (.335, 40 RBIs), Christian Colon (.329, 39) and Jared Clark (.294, nine home runs, 53 RBIs) and will build a new rotation around Dan Renken (5-5, 4.11) and a handful of newcomers from a much-touted recruiting class.

UC Irvine (42-18, Gillespie) made a big splash again in the postseason and returns 17 key players, topped by Ben Orloff (.344) in the lineup and a suffocating staff that includes Dan Bibona (9-3, 3.08) and Christian Bergman (5-2, 1.94) in the rotation and Eric Pettis (2.62, league-high 17 saves).

UCSB (35-21, Bob Brontsma) didn’t hide its desire to make 2008 a breakout year and expects to make 2009 its first with postseason success. Brontsma is loaded with pitchers, led by Mike Ford (6-4, 2.96) and Mario Hollands. Matt Valaika (.333), Brian Gump (.318) and Shane Carlson (.344) are in the lineup.

Long Beach State (39-21, Weathers) lost 11 players to the draft and has the look of a team in a rebuilding mode, although there is enough talent to compete with anyone.

UC Riverside (21-33, Doug Smith) struggled with injuries and a difficult schedule last year but stayed in the conference title race to the end. Joey Gonzalez (.330) is the best of seven returning starters in the lineup.

Cal Poly (24-32, Larry Lee) lost 18 players from last year’s team and builds on offense around Luke Yoder (.345, eight home runs). Northridge’s (24-32, Steve Rousey) investment in a large freshman class in 2008 could produce a turnaround in 2009 with deep pitching and the return of its top four hitters, including Richard Cates (.350) and John Parham (.348).

UC Davis (35-24, Rex Peters) reached the NCAA Tournament last year – it built its program around its first season of Division I eligibility – and will depend heavily on Ty Kelly (397) and Andy Suiter (6-2, 4.61) to not suffer a major fall off.

Pacific (19-41, Ed Sprague) has seven returning starters and has added former Dirtbag Don Barbara to its coaching staff.

Pacific-10: Three teams are expected to contend for the conference title, but the Pac-10 is always good for a surprise or three. UCLA (No.12 Baseball America), Arizona State (13) and Stanford (15) are bunched together in the middle of the preseason poll, and Oregon State, the two-time NCAA champion in 2006-07, is primed to make up for last season’s whiff at an NCAA bid. USC and Arizona also have been ranked in other major polls. The subtext to the season is the return of Oregon baseball under former Fullerton honcho George Horton.

UCLA (33-27, Savage) is widely respected and each season of late has been tabbed as “the one,” but the Bruins have yet to reach Omaha and the College World Series. Thirteen of 14 pitchers return from last season, including Charles Brewer (9-4, 5.10), Brendan Lafferty (4-3, 3.74, saves), and Gavin Brooks (6-3, 5.07), and they welcome Orange Lutheran’s Gerrit Cole, who was a first-round pick in the draft but spurned the Yankees. There are only two returning starters in the lineup, though. True freshman catcher Steve Rodriguez of St. John Bosco may win the job.

There’s some heat on USC (28-28, Chad Kreuter) after two disappointing seasons since the former Dodgers catcher took over for Gillespie. The Trojans haven’t reached the NCAA tourney since 2006. Troy has a competent rotation of Brad Boxberger (2-4, 6.12), Kevin Coutore (6-2, 4.27) and Anthony Vasquez (3-1, 3.61), and Robert Stock may move from behind the plate and fill a needed role out of the bullpen. All-American shortstop Grant Green (.390, nine HRs, 46 RBIs) is the leader in the field with Vasquez, when he’s playing center field. Freshman third baseman Rocky Oropesa from Etiwanda is already drawing raves.

West Coast Conference: As has been the case recently, the title showdown should come down to Pepperdine and San Diego. San Diego (44-17, Rich Hill) set a school record for wins behind its pitching and its still deep in that area despite losing its two aces. Kyle Blair (8-4, 3.86) and closer A.J. Griffin (1-1, 1.96, 14 saves) lead that staff. Pepperdine (38-21, Steve Rodriguez) has more balance. Pitchers Nate Newman (8-4, 3.46) and Nick Gaudi (5-1, 2.68, 15 saves) are the top returning arms.

Corner infielders Bryce Mendonca (.332) and Ryan Heroy (.309) are back but Pepperdine lost a lot of power. Loyola Marymount (23-32) has a new coach in former Fullerton player and assistant Jason Gill. First baseman Ryan Wheeler (.345) and Angelo Songco (.358, 15 home runs) return. Santa Clara is considered the best of the non-locals.

Projected league champ: San Diego. Other NCAA qualifier: Pepperdine. On the bubble: Santa Clara.

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